


Keep Me From Falling Apart

by QueenOfNewOrleans22



Series: The Silent Cries [3]
Category: Guns N' Roses
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Fluff, Late Night Conversations, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25157440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfNewOrleans22/pseuds/QueenOfNewOrleans22
Summary: After a fight with Axl, Slash and Duff talk.
Relationships: Axl Rose/Slash | Saul Hudson, Duff Mckagan & Slash | Saul Hudson
Series: The Silent Cries [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823191
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Keep Me From Falling Apart

"Slash? Why the fuck are you out here?" Duff appears from out of the darkness, a savior dressed in leather, with his blonde hair messy and eyes narrowed with confusion and worry. "You should be inside." He fret like a mother, taking off his jacket and tugging it around Slash, ignoring the guitarist's startled gaze and momentary refusal to take the offered jacket, which Duff wraps around Slash like it was something they did every day and pulls it over his chest, covering him up before he pulled back, still distinctly perplexed. It was in the middle of the night, as all incidents like this go, and Slash was sitting, curled up in a chair beside the hotel's pool, with his legs drawn up to his chest and arms wrapped around his midsection. He'd been operating under the assumption of being alone, but, evidently, something had prompted Duff to take a midnight stroll outside, braving the bitter chill and somehow having made his way to the pool, despite there being nothing of interest.

Blinking, his heart still beating rapidly in his chest due the sudden change and interruption, Slash relaxed back into his chair, grateful for the warmth provided by the jacket. "I couldn't sleep." He replied with as much genuineness as he could muster, which wasn't much. It wasn't a lie, per say, but it wasn't the total truth. The inability to sleep wouldn't have caused Slash to go and sit by the pool for no reason whatsoever, and even if it had, then he would've grabbed himself a jacket before he'd left. "What about you?" Slash asked, watching as his longtime friend and teammate sat down opposite of him. Duff shrugged, "I felt antsy and decided a walk would help me. Slash, why didn't you bring a jacket? It's freezing out here, man." As if the words had struck a sudden realization, Duff moved foward and grabbed one of Slash's hands, which were shivering compulsively. He took Slash's right hand within his own and started rubbing it, his skin startlingly warm and soft. Slash tried to pull away, feeling awkward with the affection, but Duff had a tight grip that only increased. "Can't have our guitarist getting frostbite and losing his fingers." Duff said with his signature grin. 

Without meaning to, Slash chuckled. "You can't get frostbite if it's not snowing." For a second, when Duff laughed, it felt okay again, the stress of life falling away, but then Slash remembered why he was out there in the first place, why he didn't have a jacket or a coat or so much as an actual shirt and the humor disappeared. Duff frowned and squeezed his hand. "You can tell me anything, you know that, right?" 

No, Slash couldn't. He couldn't tell Duff that every part of him ached, that he was scared of Axl, that he, in a way, felt guilty for the things that had been happening. "Yes." Slash whispered, nodding, unable to meet Duff's eyes. What was happening to him? What had happened to that confident, snarky guitarist who didn't take no for an answer and always fought back? Why did he, all of a sudden, feel so small? 

Duff switched hands, an increasingly intimate feeling. His fingers ran over Slash's freezing skin, providing warmth and, perhaps unknowingly, comfort. "I know something is going on- and you don't have to tell me, but just so you know, I'm always going to be here if you ever need me." Duff said sincerely, smiling ever so slightly, and then his eyes darkened and he suddenly looked suspicious. "What happened to you?" He demanded, and Slash cringed at the change, opening his mouth to ask what his friend was talking about, but the motion brought a sharp, stinging pain, and Slash faltered when he realized what Duff had talking about. 

Slowly, Duff raised his hand to bring it up and lift Slash's face so that they were staring straight at each other. "Who did this to you?" Duff asked, voice low, but eyes intent. Slash winced, knowing exactly what his friend was staring at. His lip was split and , judging by the pain that we located there, he probably had a new bruise on his cheek. Though they'd been hidden by his hair previously, Duff had been able to see the injuries from how he was sitting, and so, Slash scrambled for the easiest excuse. "You should've seen the other guy, Duffy, this pales in comparison to what I did to him." Slash said, though that was a definite lie. Axl had escaped unscathed from the fight, and the look of vindication when he'd stepped away from Slash, listening to his breathless gasps and muffled curses, had said it all. Afterwards, Axl had lay down and looked unbothered as Slash struggled to get back up from the ground, rolling his eyes, the picture of arrogance.

_You're always so sensitive. I barely even touched you._

Duff sighed. "I don't like it when you get into fights." He said, moving his hand so that it rested on Slash's shoulder instead. "I especially don't like it when you come out looking like you just got mowed down." 

Slash laughed softly. "I'm sure it's not that bad." He replied. Duff stood and offered his hand. "C'mon, a good night's sleep will help you some. Axl probably wouldn't appreciate us waking him up, so you can crash with Izzy and I." 

Nodding, Slash took the offered hand and allowed himself to be pulled up. "Sounds good. Thank you for, uh, the jacket." 

Duff wrapped his arm around Slash's shoulder and started pulling him along. "Anytime, Buddy." 


End file.
